All Hail to the King
King Arne made a visit to Milwaukee recently, and at one point during his visit, he toured Bay View High School, a large public high school just south of the downtown area. The photograph in the newspaper showed the king marching down a hall with his minions following close behind.
The accompanying article suggested that he was impatient with his Milwaukee subjects because they weren’t doing enough planning for significant school improvement. And of course, when the king speaks everyone—including the governor, mayor, and school officials—listens because he controls the coffer (i.e. stimulus money). He has $10 billion in discretionary resources to invest in states that make a real commitment to reform. Of course, this money is only part of the money targeted for education. (Talk about a power high.)
Now, I have never met the man, and know next to nothing about him, other than he was appointed to run the Chicago school system. He must have done so with some success; otherwise, President Obama wouldn’t have appointed him Secretary of Education. I’m not aware of any significant opposition to his appointment, nor any significant criticism of the way he has been running things so far, except for the high-and-mighty attitude he sometimes displays. But it is, of course, very early in his reign.
He has scheduled 15 “listening tours” to hear what his subjects have to say about their educational needs. Milwaukee was not on that tour, so the king’s visit wasn’t to listen, only to declare: “Milwaukee has a heck of a long way to go.… What Milwaukee needs is dramatic change… with a dramatic sense of urgency.” I can’t say that I’m impressed by his get-tough attitude—that by his decree our education system will change, becoming more rigorous and more standardized, or heads will roll.
He has been ranting that to make real improvement we need ambitious national standards—that with rigorous standards, officials in all corners of the kingdom can control what is taught and how it is taught. It will be interesting to see who is, or will be, establishing these standards, probably a group of court jesters, I mean court-appointed officials, who can’t wait to stick it to the students. Standards, as you know, are inextricably linked to assessment. How else can officials tell if the standards are being met if not through a test? So it follows then that teachers (voluntarily or by decree) will tailor their instruction to prepare students accordingly. You know the program: Instruction essentially boils down to “teaching for the test.”
Isn’t that pretty much what is happening now with state standards and state tests? And we all know how well that is working, don’t we? If you’re not involved in education yourself, just ask a few teachers in your district about the effects testing has on instruction. But apparently, King Arne knows better—and he’s got the money—so national standards and tests it will be.
I’m sure a case can be made for the need for standards, but they are not, by themselves, going to improve our schools, not in this country. I’m much more interested in learning about other models that might actually lead to significant improvement. One approach that interests me is to customize learning depending on each student’s needs and desires. That sounds like an approach worthy of serious investigation considering our diverse student population. I’d much rather we spend the time and the king’s money exploring something like this.
I do hope the king makes teachers, parents, and students significant contributors in the discussion during his listening tours, and beyond. These three groups, after all, have the most to gain, or to lose, by his decisions. Who knows what works or what is needed in the classroom better than experienced teachers? Who knows what triggers their interest in learning better than the students themselves? And who has more vested in their children’s education that the parents? You can put your trust in the king and his court (undersecretaries, politicians, state-level educators, etc.) if you want, but, at this point, I’m not ready to do that—not by a long shot.
—Dave
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